'Hero pilot' Dominic James was among first to leave ditched plane

THE pilot of a plane that crashed into the sea failed to take extra fuel and check conditions, report finds.

Cleo magazine's 2009 Bachelor Of The Year Award Party in Sydney. L-R pilot Dominic James, left, soldier Sean Dixon, guitarist Matt Nicholas and wine campaigner Rory Kent. Picture: Charles Brewer

A PLANE that crashed into the ocean off Norfolk Island last year was moments away from running out of fuel and had no option but to ditch, an investigation has found.

No extra fuel was carried in the plane's wing tip tanks despite Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulations forcing pilots to carry enough fuel for emergencies.

CASA approved the air operator certificate for the airline, Pel-Air, despite lax observance of fuel rules.

The report, by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, provides more details of the hurried escape of the six people aboard.

Late at night on November 18 the medical evacuation plane from Samoa ditched just off Norfolk after attempting to land four times to refuel in poor weather.

The pilot, Dominic James, was forced to put the plane down before he ran out of fuel after failing to update himself on the weather at Norfolk Island.

The pilot and co-pilot later told investigators they never saw the surface of the sea before ditching around 100km/h.

Water crashed through the aircraft’s main door on impact and the aircraft started filling up and sinking.

“The pilot in command moved rearwards from the cockpit into the cabin and ascertained that the main door was not usable,” the report states.

“Continuing rearwards to the two emergency exits in the fuselage centre section, the pilot in command opened the port emergency exit and water immediately flowed in through the door opening.

"The pilot in command exited the aircraft."

The report goes on to tell how the onboard doctor and nurse managed to drag a patient out of the plane.

“The doctor released the patient’s harnesses and opened the starboard (or right) emergency exit.

"Water flowed through the now open emergency exit and the doctor believed that the door opening was completely underwater.

"The flight nurse, doctor and patient exited the aircraft through the starboard emergency exit."

The co-pilot was one of the last to leave the plane.

Another passenger at the front of the plane freed himself and swam upwards towards the back of the plane, then exited through the door opened by the pilot.

“The passenger believed that he swam upwards some distance before reaching the surface of the water.”

"All the occupants advised that they exited the aircraft very quickly, and that there had been no time to take the liferafts," the report said.

"The pilot in command stated that he returned to the aircraft in an attempt to retrieve a liferaft, but it was too dangerous."

The six people aboard the plane were rescued by the crew of a vessel from Norfolk after lifejacket lights were spotted in the water.

Investigations are continuing.

- with The Daily Telegraph